Post No. 7 - The School of Yehuda Pen - Solomon Yudovin – Photo to Art

An-sky expedition

Jun 04, 2023

On the subject of:

The two most abused, damaged words in Chabad Propaganda/Pop culture and lingo are “inspiration” and “uplifting”. The uplift junkies. They will do absolutely anything for an uplift. I cannot possibly use these blemished words. There is an “uplift” I have in mind for all the groupthink herd... The culture turned into vomit inducing, feel good New Age Americana. But I digress…

Let me say that taking photographs during An-sky expedition sparked many Solomon Yudovin’s engravings. Although “sparked” has some Kabbalistic/Gnostic roots, it’s a relatively pristine, unspoiled word to use.

And yes, I title these posts Yehuda Pen, as a reminder, if not for Yehuda Pen, HYD, and his fledgling school, there would be none of this art in Vitebsk.

Podolia, Yarmolintsy Shule 1912-1914

Women’s fashion would be called Taliban these days. Maybe it’s a one family? Possibly, a Rov of the Shule? This photo has such a magical feel. Yudovin not only photographed it, by staged it.

This picture is misidentified everywhere as “the great Shule of Beshenkovichi”, Yudovin’s hometown. It is unlikely that such a Shule was built in the north, near Vitebsk. The style originated in the Carpathian Mountains and spilled over to the Southwestern Ukraine.

Yudovin carefully took photos of all sides of the remarkable shule. The Boy holding seforim, he also appears in the front photograph. There is a ghost on the right side and middle left.

The photos taken by Solomon Yudovin in 1912-1914, three years before the tragedy of the communist revolution of 1917, five years before the Ukrainian pogroms of 1919, fourteen years before the deadly famine in Ukraine - Holodomor in 1932-1933, twenty-three years before the mass killings of Gulag in 1937-39, twenty-seven years before the Shoa came to Ukraine in 1941.

A good time was had by all!

The boy is wearing some sort of uniform, the man appears to be the same man as in the front photograph, a mysterious woman to the very right. A porch leads to ezras noshim gallery, that’s where women would enter. The roads are naturally unpaved, so it will turn to mud on many days of the year. Dust the rest of the days. Still, it feels God would feel very comfortable here, and so do I.

Podolia, Zamehov Shule 1912-1914

Volhynia, Korytnica 1912-1914

Background, composite Shule with somewhat stylized windows.

Don’t know what Shule this belongs to, but I will pace it here. A beautiful photo. 1912-1914 was just 100 years ago, a single lifespan, and we manged to lose it all completely.

Volhynia, Mezhyrich, Weaver

This original fellow thinks about dinner.

This “uplifting”, “inspiring” version of this fellow thinks about keser. Also, Yudovin moved him to the Shule from the workshop… I think Yudovin titled it “былое”, “those were the days”. Imagine he witnessed it, photographed it and it was already all long gone… Only 10 years later!